Slashdot Mirror
Nvidia To Cease Producing New Drivers For 32-Bit Systems (arstechnica.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: While most people have probably made the switch by now, yet another reason to drop 32-bit operating systems and move to 64-bits is coming. Version 390 of Nvidia's graphics drivers, likely to arrive in January, will be the last to contain support for 32-bit versions of Windows (7, 8/8.1, and 10), Linux, and FreeBSD. There will be another year of security updates for 32-bit drivers, but all new features, performance enhancements, and support for new hardware will require the use of a 64-bit operating system and 64-bit drivers. Reasons to stick with 32-bit Windows are at this point few and far between. 64-bit Windows has superior security to 32-bit, and while it varies with workload, 64-bit applications can run somewhat faster than 32-bit counterparts; for workloads that won't fit within the constraints of 32-bit software, the difference is of course enormous. Generally, those who continue to use the 32-bit operating system tend to be subject to some kind of legacy constraint. 32-bit drivers won't work in 64-bit Windows, so obscure but mission critical hardware can extend the life of 32-bit systems.
"Generally, those who continue to use the 32-bit operating system tend to be subject to some kind of legacy constraint." This, EXACTLY this. Even on 64bit hardware, switching from 32bit Windows to 64bit Windows is a serious fucking pain in the ass. I just switched a company using 64bit hardware over from Windows 7 to Windows 10. I figured since it was Microsoft's own upgrade tool and it could easily detect hardware, it would simply upgrade to a 64bit version of Windows 10, since it is a full OS replacement anyways. FUCKIN NOPE! It went 32bit still. Now to switch, literally every machine will need to be entirely reformatted just to switch over. This is going to take a great deal of time, *JUST* for the sake of maintaining security patches in video drivers. These are 100% fully PCI compliant machines due to the work we do (as in, things are REQUIRED to be patched to ass audits), so it is going to be a non-trivial process thanks to a goddamn driver.